“Healthy” Foods That Aren’t

When you’re trying to lose weight, there are lots of items you may feel like you need to cut back on or avoid all together. And then there are those “healthy” foods that you grab because you think these are definitely better for me than…

Well, it just so happens that some of those “better for me” foods are not as healthy as many believe them to be.

Rice Cakes

These little cakes of rice became popular with the diet crowd because they’re low in calories. Ok I’ll give you that, they are low in calories, but that’s about all that’s “healthy” about them. They don’t contain any fiber or vitamins and contain very little protein.

Rice cakes are also a refined carbohydrate with a high glycemic index, so they turn to sugar in your system and will cause your blood sugar to soar. So basically you’ll feel hungry again soon after eating one. They also contain lots of salt and some artificial flavoring.

Pretzels

Yes, while they do contain less fat than say potato chips, they contain WAY too much sodium. About 10 pretzels will provide more than half of your recommended daily intake of sodium. That’s a lot. Plus pretzels have absolutely no other nutritional value, except empty calories.

Baked Chips

If you’ve ever said They’re good for you because they’re baked, not fried, I’m sure you’re not alone. You’re wrong, but you’re not alone.

Baked chips are a lower fat alternative to those fried chips, but they are still very high in sodium and calories. But at least there is a healthy option for these snacks – bake your own. There are tons of recipes to do so on Pinterest.

Wheat Bread

Many wheat – or “whole grain” – breads aren’t always made up of 100% wheat or whole grains. So, first you need to check the list of ingredients. But even still, wheat bread still contains starch, which will convert to glucose in your body and spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. Again, your blood sugar will come down as quickly as it went up and you’ll be hungry again.

Agave

This sweetener is advertised as “natural”, except that it’s high in fructose. It actually contains more fructose as a percentage than high fructose corn syrup! Now Agave is low in glucose, but fructose has it’s own set of problems. Fructose has been linked to cardiovascular problems because once it’s broken down in your system, it creates triglycerides (a type of fat in your blood).

Here are a few more “healthy foods” (that really aren’t) that I’ve mentioned in previous posts:

Canola Oil

The main thing to remember is that there is no such thing as a “canola plant”. Canola oil comes from rapseed, which is toxic and banned from human consumption. However, manufacturers have come up with a way to genetically modify the rapseed to get canola oil. There is no nutritional value to canola oil and it is hydrogenated, which as we know hydrogenated oils are the ones to avoid.

Soy

The thing to know about soy is that it is 93% genetically modified. And I’ve already explained why you should avoid GMOs, but soy also contains phytoestrogens. Even if you don’t know what a phytoestrogen is, you can see it has the word estrogen in it – a hormone. For men, this can lead to low testosterone, low sperm count and a higher risk for cancer. For women, it’s more estrogen than you body needs and can cause infertility and menstrual problems.

Now diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and I’ve already explained why artificial sweeteners are my enemy, but diet soda has actually been studied and found to contribute to weight gain! The complete opposite effect it’s supposed to have. What happens is that the sweetener signals your body to store fat and carbs and this makes you hungrier. So not only is diet soda not healthy, but it can cause you to gain weight.

Can you think of other so-called health foods that aren’t? I’d love to know more! Leave a comment to share.

And if you’re looking for a website to purchase foods that are actually healthy, check out Thrive Market:

Leann Forst, MBA, CHC — Family Health & Cancer Coach

Leann is a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, holding a Master’s degree from Drake University and a Bachelor of Science from Upper Iowa University. Leann is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. And she is an award winning author of 2 books “How to Get Your Kids to Beg for Veggies”and “100 Ways to Lose Weight.”

Born and raised as an Iowa farm girl, she moved to Texas in 1998 where she lives with her husband and 2 kids.

As a wife of a brain cancer survivor, Leann has a special interest in anti-cancer nutrition and detoxification. She works with individuals and groups, and speaks regularly at hospitals, schools and organizations to teach people how to attain optimal health by getting to the root cause of chronic and inflammatory conditions, while using healing modalities such as essential oils. You can download Leann’s Essential Oils 101 report here.